And Then, There is One
by Shi Natoka-chan . Nah
Summary: In the end, there can only be one Mist Guardian


Characters: Chrome / Mukuro  
Genre: Angst  
Topic: Betrayal

-96-

Mukuro and Hibari crash in the center of the room, their weapons clash with a noise that rings inside her ears. Their flames flash, and the dinner table they so disrespectfully stepped on breaks into splinters.

Chrome feels a headache starting to build behind her left eye. By habit, she starts to calculate what this is going to cost.

The number always ends up too high.

Why did this always happen when Mukuro-sama comes home?

"Boss . . ." Chrome voice is almost drowned by the exacerbating chaos in their dining hall. She hesitantly touches his sleeve to get his attention.

Tsuna turns to smile at her. It's a small, sweet curve of his lips, but it's clear from the look in his eyes that he is exhausted. It has been a tough few days for them all, but it has been especially hard for her boss. He finally brings the Sigaretta Famiglia to a stand down, but their situation is still shaky. One wrong word or one wrong move can send the whole thing crumbling down.

"I'm sorry, Chrome. I called Hibari-san back yesterday. I forgot Mukuro would be here, too."

Her boss, with a heart too kind for his own good, apologizes to her instead. Chrome ducks her head, a mix of emotions she can't name jumbles inside her.

"I'll stop them, boss." She rises from her chair and summons her trident, but before she can go, Tsuna's hand lands on her arm, halting her departure.

"Don't, Chrome. It's okay. It's just a rivalry spar. They're my guardians. They won't go too far."

Chrome isn't too sure of that. Tsuna has too much faith in his Family. A lot of them went too far before, but Chrome has managed to swipe most of the records away before they reach Tsuna's eyes. His boss would be devastated if he knew about them.

But he didn't know. So, Chrome obediently sits down, and thinks about how to clean up this mess, and how to hide it from the rest of the Families.

-96-

"Don't do this, Mukuro-sama! You're risking too much!" Chrome doesn't mean to raise her voice, but Mukuro is so stubborn, and he has too much pride over his skills.

"You have too little faith in me, Nagi-chan," he sing-songs the mirror of her thought. Always in her mind, even years after they have split apart to find their own path.

And he uses her old name, always condescending and forever looking down on her. Just a little girl he saved once upon a time, left behind when he no longer needs her.

"Everyone knows who you are, Mukuro-sama!" Chrome tries, anyway, because he was a boy who once saved her, in a past long gone. She can't let him to do this to himself. She can't let him do this to her Family. "Please, let me go this time! Or at least, let me accompany you!"

"You, Chrome?" He uses her name this time, but it doesn't matter, because what he says next . . . "You'll stutter and blow our whole covers. Be a good girl and sort my reports, would you?"

. . . It shows just how broken they are.

"I'm not you secretary, Mukuro!"

Chrome didn't mean to snap, but it's too late. Mukuro looks a little stunned.

Maybe, just maybe, he finally-

"Cute little Chrome, finally found her spirit," Mukuro smirks, a mock in his tongue, a dismissal in his eyes. He turns around and stops giving her any attention, except for . . . "Stay."

An order, like she is a mere mongrel.

The door slams closed between them.

Chrome shrieks in frustration.

The walls drown her scream away.

-96-

"Boss, please, let me go with you!"

Her plea echoes from the corner of the large lobby. It's enough to make Tsuna pauses before he leaves.

Chrome catches her breath and tries to stay on her feet. Things have been bad lately. It drives her crazy to be stuck in logistics while her Family risk their lives every single day.

When she heard that basically everyone is heading out to storm the Sigaretta household for the final time, she ran halfway across the mansion so she could join them.

"Chrome . . ." Tsuna looks concern. He takes a step towards her, but then stops. His hand twitches, lifting up before dropping back down, as if he wants to reach for her, but afraid that he's not allowed. Finally, all he says is, "You look unwell."

He's not wrong. She feels sick in her stomach, aching at the hollow within her chest. The stress is getting to her. She feels weak from helplessness.

She needs to do this. She won't be cast aside, forgotten in an empty room, locked inside all alone. Not again.

"Boss, please! Let me help you! I-"

Her words are cut short when the front door swings open. But no, that's not what interrupted her. It's the Flame, as thick as poison, that chokes her silent.

Mukuro glides in, dark coat trailing behind him, trident held aloof in one hand. Her boss doesn't seem to notice the toxicity of his aura.

. . . They are in perfect harmony.

Her own flame cries out, because doesn't she deserve that, too? Or maybe it's her soul, because all that she ever wanted is-

"Tsunayoshi, what are you stalling for? Everyone is waiting for you."

"Ah, yes. Sorry, Mukuro. I'm coming." Tsunayoshi stutters a little from the reminder. He glances at her and half bows, as if he is not her boss at all. And yet- "I'm sorry, Chrome. Please wait for us, okay? And rest well!"

He didn't look at her face, because if he did, there is no way he would walk away. Mukuro, on the other hand . . . He looks straight into her eye, smiles, and has the nerves to say, "Yes, rest well, Chrome-chan. We'll do just fine without you."

Once again, the door slams closed between them, sealing her inside this prison they call home.

Chrome drops onto her knees, curling onto the floor, her fingers dig into the marble until her whole arms tremble. She tries to hold back her tears, but in the end, she gives up on that, too.

It's clear as any. Everyone has forgotten, that she is also a Mist Guardian.

-69-

Mukuro eyes snap open, heart skipping a beat behind his ribs. It sensed evil intention. Someone is inside his bedroom.

He pretends to remain asleep, slowly drawing his gaze to find the intruder. It's . . .

"Chrome?" The tension in his shoulders dissipate. He sits up to inquire about her. "Why are you here at . . . One in the morning?"

Mukuro should probably be more wary, but it's simply Chrome. She has no evil within her at all. It's not an imposter, either, because the flame that flickers hesitantly in her core is very familiar to him. He must've still a bit rattled by their near loss to the Sigaretta.

But Chrome doesn't answer. She stays near the door, hands clasped behind her back, looking down at the floor. The room is too dark to show her expression.

"Chrome-chan? What's wrong?"

Mukuro ignores the pull of his wounds and steps down from the bed. He makes his way towards her, calling up his flame to light the room. But it fizzles and died in his palm when he sees Chrome flinch, as if she's afraid of him.

Okay, he'll be the first to admit that they haven't been as close as they used to. He made her angry, teased her a little too far. But he doesn't mean to push her away this much either.

Tension is running high in the mafia world right now. Every Famiglia has their eyes on Vongola, on them. One weak spot, and they might crumble.

Chrome has just had her final surgery over a month ago. Everyone had agreed to keep her out of the mess for now. It's for her own good. She has the tendencies to push herself too far. None of them wants her to get hurt.

"Nagi-chan?" He asks again, using her former name, because it always works to wear her down when she's being too stubborn. This time, he's hoping it'll snap her out of this strange silence.

He's close enough to touch her, now. He waits for her to stop him, but she doesn't say anything. He reaches out to lift her head-

-and his hand slips past her skin, the illusion ripples and breaks like reflection on water.

But her flame-

Something sharp finds his spine, pushing through, grazing his lungs, piercing his heart. He looks down to see the tips of a familiar trident poking out of his chest.

A burst of indigo flame smothers his core before he recovers from the shock, before he calls up his defense.

Then, he's falling . . .

The floor is cold. He'll probably get a bump on his forehead.

The weapon is yanked out of his chest. He goes with the motion and lets his body flops around, so he's laying on his back now.

Yeah, he's not wrong. That's his dearest Chrome, who kneels beside him with tears in her eye.

"Chrome?" He wants to ask what happened. Who hurt her? Why did she do this? Who forced her to? But his voice is barely a whisper. Her mist flame is burning underneath his skin, reconstructing, dissembling, unravelling his body. She's killing him from the inside.

"I'm so sorry, Mukuro-sama."

She's choked up from her tears. They're running down her cheek, splashes of raindrops forming between them. He wants to reach out and wipes it away, asking why she's apologizing when she's the one hurting, but . . . he doesn't have an arm, anymore.

He has become one of her illusions. Now, erased.

 _Chrome . . ._

He calls out again, but there's not even a whisper remains.

Just before he fades completely, he hears her voice for one last time.

"I'm so sorry . . . But, there can only be one Mist Guardian."

Mukuro takes a final look at her, as soft and gentle as she always had been, and thinks, 'Well, if that's true, then I'm glad they have you, now.'

 _Take care, Chrome. I will watch you from the other side._

-0-


End file.
